I came in for landing, hooves touching down quietly on the wooden floor just outside the market.
I didn't go to the market very often normally just because of what is happening now. Ponies noticed me almost at once.
Ponies parting before me, bowing. Smiling.
Treating me like I had all the answers. Like just because I had a horn and wings I deserve special treatment.
Like I had all the answers.
I hated it. I enjoyed going here much more when I pretended to be Night Wind, just another pony.
But if my ponies found out how I felt, they would be dismayed.
So I smiled back and answered the bows with nods of my own. At least it wasn't that uncommon for me to come down to the town that I drew a crowd. Shade and Leaf followed behind me as I walked through the crowd.
I took in the scents, the sounds. The sights of the market are all around me.
There was a buzzing of wings and Amber landed to walk beside me.
I smiled at her, "Good morning, Amber."
"Good morning, sir," she said as she scanned the crowds, not even glancing in my direction.
After getting shot, you would think I would be nervous in crowds. Didn't happen, but apparently it applied to Amber instead. Anytime I did something like this, she came out of hiding to walk right next to me.
A scent caught my nose and my hooves turned, heading towards a market stall mared by a batpony mare. Pretty young, maybe in her early twenties at most and in the classic grey and black colours, a cutiemark of a bee on her flank.
"Good morning," I said with a smile and she did a double take away from working the grill.
"G-Good morning your majesty!" she quickly said with a bow.
I nodded in turn, "What do you have here…" I asked, a small bit of dream magic fishing her name out for me, "Honeydew?" I asked with a smile, "Smells good."
She blushed to the tips of her ears, "Oh.. Uhm... I sell grilled treats, your majesty. N-nothing fancy mind you! Just grilled and candied fruit and meat."
"I think it smells good," I said and studied the list written behind her, "May I have a spicy lizard on a stick, please?"
"Of course, your majesty!" she said and quickly started to prepare one that was on the grill already before holding it out for me a minute later, "On the house!"
I smiled and took it, "Nothing of the sort," I said as I shook my head and used my magic to count out the price and a bit extra before floating it over, "Here you go."
"T-thank you, sir! Uhm… Your Majesty!"
"Have a good morning, Honeydew," I told her with a smile and moved off again, holding my lizard on a stick in my hoof instead of magic as I continued through the early morning crowds, shopping for dinner or whatever they were looking for after work.
Nibbling on the lizard which really tasted as good as it smelled, all sweet and spicy along with charcoal grill taste, I made my way across the market towards the merchant stories.
Not seeing a good place to dispose of the stick and skeleton, I charged a teleport spell and tossed it as far into the forest as I could.
"Where to now, sir?" Amber asked.
"Not sure actually," I said with a smile, "Just walking. We're not too far from the guard training compound, maybe go there."
"Yes, sir," Amber agreed.
So my hooves headed in that direction. It was nice just taking a walk actually, it gave me time to think. Not that it helped exactly, by the time I reached the training platform, I still had not solved the problems facing Nocturnis.
Would have been really nice if I had.
The ponies on the field seemed to be practicing with spears. The majority were mares, but it actually seemed to be close to the population ratio from what I could see, close to a four to one mare to stallions.
Most of them bats with the next category being pegasi and then some unicorns and earth ponies mixed in. But all of them are running the same drill with the same sort of spear.
A medium length one, long enough to fend something dangerous off without being too long to move it in the forest.
"Your majesty!" a batpony lieutenant said in greeting as he trotted up to bow for me, wearing the Nocturnis pattern armour, "We were not informed of an inspection!" he said as he bowed, wings spreading.
I smiled, "No inspection, Silent Wing," I told him, "I'm just taking a walk and got curious."
"Of course, sir," he said and stood up.
The ponies kept training. Either they had not noticed me or they were good enough to ignore me.
Kinda hoped for both to be honest.
I watched for a couple of more seconds before I looked at Silent Wing, "Could you show me that form from the start?"
"Of course, sir," he said and quickly trotted off to get one of the practice spears before returning.
As I watched, he went through it. Low guard, stab upwards, retreat, feint stab, mid stab followed by two steps forward and two high stabs.
I could see how it would work.
Low guard to protect against a charge, make the enemy wary with a high thrust towards their muzzle, then back up and feint in case they try to counter. If they then move in because of the faint you force them back and stab them in the face.
"May I try it?" I asked with a smile.
Silent Wing hesitated but hooved over the spear, "Of course, your majesty," he said and retreated a couple of steps.
I adjusted the spear with my right foreleg, shifting the weight into the guard position, shifting the rest of my three hooves into a balanced stance.
Stab upwards, two steps back, feint with tip, back slightly, stab forward, two fast steps forward, stab up, stab up.
"How did I do?" I asked as I raised the spear, leaning it against my shoulder as I looked at him again.
"It was actually very good, your majesty," he said, almost sounding surprised, "Have you used a spear before?"
I smiled at the obvious exaggeration, "A bit, but it's not my best weapon, especially when not using my magic," I said and hooved it back to him, "And I'm quite out of practice. Thanks for showing me Lieutenant."
"It was my pleasure, sir! If I may ask, what weapon do you prefer?"
I considered that for a second, "If I had to pick, I'd say the chakram."
"I don’t think I have ever heard of that one, sir."
I smiled and shook my head, "It's an old unicorn weapon. You can't really use one effectively without a horn, it's barely used anymore. Much easier to just use a spear, sword or crossbow. But it was a gift from my wife and one of the first ones I learned."
Silent Wind smiled and nodded, "I understand, your majesty."
"I'll get out of your mane now," I said and gave him a nod, "And let you actually get back to doing something useful. Have a good morning, Lieutenant."
"You as well, your majesty," he said with another bow.
I turned and left.
I should head back home, I had my own duties to attend to before it was time for bed.